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CONSTITUTION 

AND 

BY-LAWS 



Organized April 12, 1888 Incorporated June 12, 1885 



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CONSTITUTION 



AND 



BY-LAWS 



Organized April 12, 1883 Incorporated Jime 12, 1885 



NEW YORK 

Published by the Society 

1888 



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OFFICERS FOR THE YEAR 1888-89. 



President : 
Hon. JOHN JAY. 

Vice-President for New York : 

Edward F. de Lancey, Esq. 

Vice-President for Staten Island : 

Hon. Chauncey M. Depew. 

Vice-President for New Rochelle : 

Henry M. Lester, Esq. 

Vice-President for New Paltz : 

A. T. Clearwater, Esq. 

Vice-President for Boston : 

Hon. Robert C. Winthrop. 

Vice President for New Oxford : 

Richard Olney, Esq. 

Vice-President for Narragansett : 

William Ely, Esq. 

Vice-President for New Jersey : 

Rev. D. D. Demarest, D.D. 

Vice-President for Delaware : 

Hon. Thomas F. Bayard. 

Vice-President for Pennsylvania : 

Charles M. Du Puy, Esq. 

Vice-President for South Carolina : 

Daniel Ravenel, Esq. 



Secretary : 

Banver Clarkson, Esq., 15 West 45th St., New York. 

*V* All communications in regard to the Society should be addressed to the 
Secretary. 

Treasurer : 
P. W. Gallaudet, Esq., 2 Wall Street, New York. 



Executive Committee : 

Josiah H. Gautier, M.D. Frederic J. de Peyster, Esq. 

Rev. Henry Mottet. Rev. A. G. Vermilye, D.D. 

J. C. Pumpelly, Esq. 



Publication Committee : 

Hon. Henry W. Bookstaver. Prof. Chas. A. Briggs, D.D. 

Peter B. Olney, Esq. 



Library Committee : 

Rev. A. V. Wittmeyer. Mrs. Martha J. Lamb. 

F. D. Weiss, M.D. 



Finance Committee : 

Lawrence Turnure, Esq. Henry M. Lester, Esq. 

Henry Staples Rapelye, Esq. 



SPECIAL SUB-COMMITTEES. 



Ladies' Committee : 

Mrs. Martha J. Lamb. Mrs. Henry C. Stimson. 

Mrs. William H. Budd. Miss Mary S. Clark. 

Miss Catharine G. Van Rensselaer. 



Gentlemen 's Committee : 
Chas. M. Du Puy, Esq. Edward F. de Lancey, Esq. 

Hon. John Jay. Hon. H. W. Bookstaver. 

Henry M. Lester, Esq. Col. William Jay. 

Banyer Clarkson, Esq. 



On Seal and Diploma : 

Charles Lanier, Esq. Henry G. Marquand, Esq. 

Henry Le Grand Cannon, Esq. 



Committee on Papers : 

Chas. M. Du Puy, Esq. Mrs. Martha J. Lamb. 

Banyer Clarkson, Esq. 



CONSTITUTION. 



ARTICLE I. 

NAME. 



The name of this organization shall be "The HUGUENOT 
Society of America." 

ARTICLE II. 

OBJECT. 
The object of the Society shall be : 

First, To perpetuate the memory and to foster and promote 
the principles and virtues of the Huguenots. 

Secondly, To publicly commemorate at stated times the 
principal events in the history of the Huguenots. 

Thirdly, To discover, collect, and preserve all still existing 
documents, monuments, etc., relating to the genealogy or 
history of the Huguenots of America. 

Fourthly, To gather by degrees a library, for the use of the 
Society, composed of all obtainable books, monographs, pam- 



phlets, manuscripts, church and other registers relating to the 
Huguenots. 

Fifthly, To cause statedly to be prepared and read before 
the Society, papers, essays, etc., especially on obscure or dis- 
puted questions in Huguenot history or genealogy ; their 
settlements, biographies, public acts, influence on society, 
arts, commerce, and politics of America especially, and of other 
countries where they settled. 

Sixthly, To cause to be prepared and published, when the 
requisite materials have been discovered and procured from 
time to time, a series of octavo volumes entitled : " COLLEC- 
TIONS of the Huguenot Society of America." 

An Annual Bulletin shall also be published to correspond 
in general uniformity with the "collections." It shall contain 
the proceedings of the Society, notices of papers read before 
the Society, or abstracts of them, or the papers in full at the 
discretion of the Publication Committee. It shall also contain 
the Annual Financial Statement of the Treasurer, and such a 
brief review of the doings of other Huguenot Societies as the 
Committee may deem it advisable to print. 

Seventhly, To establish branches of this Society in other 
American cities, and to encourage the foundation of similar 
Societies in other countries where Huguenots have taken 
refuge, in order to arrive, with their aid, at a correct estimate 
of the combined influence of the Huguenots upon the history 
of the world at larre. 



9 
ARTICLE III. 

MEMBERSHIP. 
Sec. I. The membership of the Society shall be as follows: 

First, All descendants in the direct male lines of the 
Huguenot families that emigrated to America prior to the pro- 
mulgation of the Edict of Toleration, November 28th, 1787. 

Secondly, All descendants through the female lines of the 
Huguenot families that emigrated to America prior to the pro- 
mulgation of the Edict of Toleration, November 28th, 1787. 

Thirdly, Representatives of other French families whose 
profession of the Protestant faith is anterior to the promulga- 
tion of the Edict of Toleration, November 28th, 1787. 

Fourthly, Writers who have made the history, genealogy, 
principles, etc., of the Huguenots a special subject of study 
and research, to whatever nationality they may belong. 

Sec. 2. The members of the Society may consist of three 
classes: Resident, Corresponding, and Honorary. 

Sec. 3. The annual fees of members, Corresponding and 
Honorary members excepted, shall be five dollars, and the pay- 
ment of fifty dollars shall constitute a life member. 

Sec. 4. The mode of electing members shall be as follows : 
Candidates may be proposed in writing at any regular meeting 
of the Society or of the Executive Committee, by two mem- 
bers, one of whom shall sign the certificate from personal 



10 

knowledge or accompany it with his written proof of its state- 
ment. Such nominations, with a written statement of the name, 
address, occupation, and descent of each candidate, shall be 
considered at the next meeting after the nomination has been 
made of the Executive Committee who shall pass thereon. 
If the said Committee report favorably upon the nomination, 
the candidate shall be considered as duly elected ; but if any 
member of the Executive Committee demand a ballot, the 
election shall be by ballot, and a two-third vote of the members 
of the Committee present shall be necessary to elect. 

Each elected member shall be notified of his election by the 
Secretary, who shall furnish him with a copy of the Constitu- 
tion and By-Laws and List of Members. On his admission he 
shall pay one year's subscription. 

ARTICLE IV. 

OFFICERS. 

Sec. i. The officers of the Society shall consist of a 
President, a Vice-President for each original Huguenot centre 
or settlement in America, a Secretary, a Treasurer, an 
Executive Committee, a Library Committee, a Publication 
Committee, and a Finance Committee. 

The Executive Committee shall be composed of five 
members appointed by the President, together with the 
President, Vice-Presidents, Secretary, Treasurer, and Chairman 
of the Publication, Library, and Finance Committees. In the 
absence of the President or any of the Vice-Presidents, it shall 
elect its own Chairman, pro tevipoi-e. This Committee shall 



11 

have power at any of its meetings to fill vacancies caused by 
the death or resignation of any officers of the Society. Any 
five members of the Executive Committee shall constitute a 
quorum for the transaction of business. 

Sec. 2. Besides the ordinary rights and duties of a 
presiding officer, the President shall appoint all the Com- 
mittees, also their place of meetings. In conjunction with 
the Secretary and Treasurer, he shall have the power, and 
upon the written request of three members of the Executive 
Committee, it shall be his duty to call Special Meetings of 
the Society. 

Sec. 3. It shall be the duty of the Vice-Presidents to 
interest in the object of this Society the Huguenot descend- 
ants of their localities, and when deemed advisable to establish 
branches of this Society in all parts of the country, and 
especially in those localities which they represent. 

In the absence of the President, a Vice-President shall 
preside, and exercise all the rights and privileges of the 
President ; and if more than one Vice-President be present, 
the Vice-President of the centre where the meeting is held 
shall be the presiding officer. 

Sec. 4. It shall be the duty of the Secretary to keep an 
accurate record of all the proceedings of the Society; to 
conduct the correspondence of the Society ; to notify members 
of the meetings of the Society ; to inform officers and new 
members of their election ; to countersign all drafts made on 
the Treasurer ; and to call and arrange for all meetings of the 
Society, under the direction of the Executive Committee ; 



12 

to prepare and submit to the Executive Committee, at their 
meeting next before the Annual Meeting, a report of the 
proceedings for the last year. It shall also be his duty, under 
the supervision of the Publication Committee, to prepare the 
Annual Bulletin, as provided for under the Sixth Section of 
Article II. 

Sec. 5. It shall be the duty of the Treasurer to collect all 
dues, fees, and other moneys belonging to the Society, and 
so often as these funds shall amount to fifty dollars, he shall 
deposit the same in some bank in the city of New York, in 
the name of "The Huguenot Society of America." 
Out of these funds he shall pay such sums only as may be 
ordered by the Executive Committee, or, in special cases of 
necessity, by the Finance Committee. He shall keep an 
accurate account of his receipts and disbursements, and render 
an account of the same at each Annual Meeting of the 
Society, which will name a committee to audit them. 

Sec. 6. It shall be the duty of the Executive Committee 
to examine and pass upon the credentials of candidates ; to 
elect new members, as provided for in Section 4, Article III., 
of this Constitution ; to engage suitable persons to deliver 
the addresses and prepare the papers contemplated in this 
Constitution ; and to make all other arrangements necessary 
for the meetings of the Society, and to transact all business of 
the Society not otherwise provided for in the Constitution. 

Sec. 7. The Library Committee shall be a committee of 
three. It shall have immediate control of the buying, bind- 
ing, cataloguing, and care of books, manuscripts, pamphlets, 



13 

documents, and property of the Society. It shall also have 
the selection, direction, and payment of the Librarian and 
Assistant-Librarians, and the charge of such other business 
as may be directly connected with the Library or Reading 
Rooms of the Society. 

Sec. 8. The Publication Committee shall be a committee 
of three, and shall have the selection, supervision, and control 
of all the publications of the Society, subject to the approval 
of the Executive Committee. 

Sec. 9. The Finance Committee shall be a committee of 
three, and shall authorize all disbursements, audit the accounts 
of the Treasurer, and generally supervise the finances of the 
Society, and make a Semi-Annual Report to the Executive 
Committee. 

Sec. 10. The officers of the Society shall be annually 
elected on the Annual Business Meeting, but if any vacancy 
occur during the year, it may be filled at the next meeting 
of the Society by the President, as authorized. 

ARTICLE V. 

MEETINGS. 

Sec. i. The Annual Business Meeting shall be held on 
April 13 — the day of the promulgation of the Edict of Nantes, 
granting freedom of worship to the Huguenots of France. 
Should such date fall upon Sunday, then the day thereafter 
shall be the day for this meeting. 

Sec. 2. The Annual Public Meeting, and all other meet- 
ings not herein above-named, shall be held during the year 
at such time as may be deemed advisable by the Executive 
Committee. 



14 



BY-LAWS. 



Sec. I. Notices of meetings shall be given at least one 
week in advance. 



Sec. 2. It shall always require ten members to constitute a 
quorum for the transaction of business. 

Sec. 3. At all meetings of the Society the order of business 
shall be as follows : 

The reading and adoption of the minutes of the 

previous meeting. 
Reports of officers. 
Reports of the Executive Committee. 
At the annual meeting, election of officers. 
Nomination of new members. 
Reports of special committees. 
Miscellaneous business. 
The reading of papers, or addresses, before the 

Society. 
Adjournment. 

SEC 4. All resolutions shall be presented in writing to the 
chair. 



15 



Sec. 5. Appeals taken from the decisions of the chair shall 
require a two-third vote to be sustained. 

Sec. 6. The object or objects of special meetings shall be 
stated in the call. 

Sec. 7. At special meetings all resolutions shall require a 
two-third vote of the members present. 

Sec. 8. A copy of all papers read before the Society shall 
be requested by the Library Committee for preservation among 
its archives. 

Sec. 9. The Executive Committee shall have power to 
arrange for the Society an annual dinner or other entertain- 
ment, at their discretion, at such time and place as they may 
decide to be most appropriate. 

Sec. 10. A regular monthly meeting for the transaction of 
business, for reading and discussing papers, etc., shall be held 
on the first Tuesday of each month from November to May, 
inclusive. 

Sec. 11. If any member neglect or refuse to pay his annual 
fee for two consecutive years, the Treasurer shall report the 
same to the Executive Committee, who may strike his name 
from the roll of membership. 

Sec. 12. Such members of the Society as do not themselves 
bear Huguenot names, shall add to their own names (on signing 
the constitution), the Huguenot names through which they 
claim descent. 



16 

Sec. 13. The original Huguenot settlements in this country, 
each of which is entitled to a Vice-President, are as follows : 
New York City, Staten Island, Long Island, New Rochelle, 
New Paltz, Boston, New Oxford, Narragansett, Maine, New 
Jersey, Delaware, Pennsylvania, Virginia, South Carolina, and 
Florida. 

Sec. 14. The Constitution and By-Laws of this Society may 
be amended or repealed at any meeting of the Society by a 
two-third vote, but the changes proposed to the Constitution 
must have been submitted at a previous meeting. 



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